It’s the first Friday of October, and in today’s episode of Trade To Black, we have Hirsh Jain, Founder of Ananda Strategy, and Elliot Lane from Benzinga as special guests. Hirsh Jain joins us from the Ohio Cannabis Health & Business Summit and shares the latest numbers out of the state. $87m has been reported. Elliot will preview what investors will be able to expect at next week’s Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference. We’ll also dive into the defamation lawsuit by Truelieve against the Republican Party of Florida.
Ohio, which legalized adult recreational use two months ago, has been reporting some impressive cannabis sales numbers: $87m in September, almost double August’s reported $44 million. Hirsh Jain attributes these strong numbers to an equally strong demand for adult-use cannabis and predicts that Ohio could eventually grow into a market worth $3 billion dollars if some restrictions are removed to allow full potential.
It’s performing well, to say the least, and the trajectory might be similar to Michigan’s market. Hirsh also shares his thoughts on potential future mergers and acquisitions that might take place in Ohio.
To the south, Florida’s largest medical marijuana retailer, Trulieve (OTC: TCNNF), filed a defamation lawsuit against the Republican Party of Florida and two media outlets over what it claims are false and misleading advertisements regarding a cannabis legalization amendment proposal it is backing. Amendment 3, which goes on the ballot this November, would allow adults 21 and older to purchase recreational cannabis at existing medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTCs).
The GOP’s most recent campaigns against Amendment 3 now attack that the proposed legislation includes no provision for growing cannabis at home. The ad that sparked Trulieve’s defamation lawsuit features a “Big Weed” character who tells farmers that “We wrote the amendment, so we’re the only ones that can grow it.” Trulieve, who operates 151 MMTCs in Florida, alleges that the “Big Weed” character is intended to represent them.
We’ll share our thoughts this, plus the possibility of cannabis banking reforms and the role of politicians like Steve Daines in the process.
Lastly, Elliot Lane from Benzinga joins us to preview next week’s major event in Chicago for the cannabis industry, the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference. Elliot shares what investors can expect if they attend.